Splashboard bracket for barges and the like



y 1944' K. F. BRAUN ET AL SPLASH BOARD BRACKET FOR BARGES AND THE LIKEFiled Dec. 9, 1945 INVENTORS.

KARL FBBdU/V 0/10 650/965 7 6 /FF/77v5,

4 brhey.

XL 2 25726 /5 l6 Patented May 2, 1944 SPLASHBOARD BRACKET FOR BARGJJSAND THE LIKE Karl F. Braun,. Clairton, and George. T. Grifi'iths,

McKcesport, Pa., assignors to Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, acorporation ofNew Jersey Application December 9, 1943-, Serial No.513,510

(01. Iii-0.5)

Claims.

This inventionrelates to splash board brackets or holders, andparticularly. to an' improved collapsible plash board bracket or holder,especially adapted for use with barges andthe like.

It is customary to provide splash boards, which are held in an uprightposition on the deck at the head end of barges, to prevent water fromsplashing over theheadlog and deck into the hoppered cargo space whenthe free board at the head of the barge is not of sufficient height,and, generally, spaced apart brackets'are used for holding andsupporting the splash boards in position thereon; Heretofore, severaldifferent types and designs of brackets have been suggested and used.Most of these types were difiicult to assemble on'the barge andcumbersome to store when not in use. Also, such brackets were designedusually for use with barges or boats having wooden headlogs, and wereusually attached thereto. by means of nails, or suitable clamping means.With the advent of all-steel barges, such brackets could not be used forthe reason that they could not be conveniently attached to the metal ofthe headlog of the barge; Accordingly, it was necessary to design a newbracket which could be used with steel barges and it is to such abracket that the present'invention relates.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide an improvedsplash board bracket which can be easily and conveniently assembled anddisassembled in position on the barge, and which is especially adaptablefor use withbarges of an all-steel construction;

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved splashboard-bracket forbarges and the like which is of a lightweightconstruction. and one which is collapsible so as to facilitate handlingand storing when not in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved splashboard-bracket for. barges and the like which is simple and inexpensivein its construction, and at the same time, efiicient and eiTective inits use;

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be moreapparent in the courseiof the following specification and willbeparticularly pointed out in the appended. claims;

In the accompanying drawing there is shown, for the purpose ofillustration, an embodiment which our invention may assume in practice.

In this drawing:

Figure l i a side elevational View ofthe improved splash board bracketof our invention showing the position it assumes'onthc head-of a barge;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a top view of the same;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the head end of a barge showing the improvedbrackets of our invention incorporated therewith;

Figure 5 is aside elevational'view of the barge asshown in Figure-4; and

Figure 6 is a front view thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the improved splash boardbracket of our invention, as'more clearly'shownin'Figures' 1 and 2,comprises a relatively short base member 2 having a fiat or straightportion 3 arranged on theouter end thereof, and a relatively largesemi-cylin-- drical portionl arranged on the inner end thereof. There issecurely connected to the fiat por tion 30f the'base member 2 on theouter side of the semi-cylindrical portion 4' thereof, preferably bymeans of welding, a pair of spaced apart parallel upwardly'andvertically extending plates 5 and 6. These'plates are spaced apartsubstantially the thickness of the splash boards so as in accommodatethe same therebetween in a manher to be described. Adjacent the top ofthe plates 5 and 6, there is arranged therearound preferably alinkmember 1 having one side there of pivotally attached preferably to ashort length of pipe 8 welded to the inner side of the inner plate 6.The uppper end of the member 5 is preferably bent outwardly orhook-shaped as at 9 so as to prevent accidental displacement of. thelink 1 over theend'thereof. It will be understood t-hatthe link 1 isadapted to hold the upper ends of the plates 5 and 6 in spaced relationrelative to-each other when the splash boards II] have been inserted"therebetween.

On the inner side of the semi-cylindrical portion 4 of the base 2- ata-point directly opposite the plates 5 and 6. carried thereby, there isarranged a movable plate-like member l2 which i; adapted to form partof'the base when disposed in one position. The inner end of the memberi2 is pivotally attached to the inner side of the semi-cylindricalportion 4 of'the base member 2. preferably by means of a clevis i3consisting of a pair of plates with one welded to either side of themember l2 at a spaced distance from the inner end thereof. The clevis I3is connected to the semi-cylindrical portion 4 preferably by means of arelatively short pipe l4 welded there to and a pin member !5 is insertedthrough the aligned holes in the clevis and the opening through the pipeM for pivotally connecting the member l2 thereto. On the extreme innerend of the member '2 beyond the pivotal connection right angles to theaxis of the pipe, preferably a short length of pipe |8 for pivotallyconnecting that end of the brace to a clevis l9 securely welded to theinner side of the plate 6 at a spaced distance from the top end thereof.There is provided a pin or unit 20 which is inserted through the clevisl9 and the pipe l8 for pivotally connecting that end of the brace H tothe upwardly extending member 6. There is disposed onthe lower end ofthe brace IT, a short length of pipe 2| similar to pipe I8 and which iswelded thereto in a like manner. Adjacent to the outer end of theplate-like member |2, there is mounted thereon, a'clevis 22 to which thepipe 2| is detachably connected preferably by means of a toggle bolt 23which is inserted through the aligned holes in the clevis 22 and thepipe 2| so as to securely connect the brace II to the member |2. Thetoggle bolt 23 is preferably attached to the plate member I2 by means ofa short length of chain 24 so that the toggle bolt will not be misplacedor lost when the bracket is not in use. The upwardly extending membersand 6, the basemember 2 and the member l2 all are made preferably fromlightweight sheet metal so as to provide a relatively lightweightconstruction.

The improved bracket of our invention is used in the following manner,It will be understood that there is arranged on the deck of the bargeadjacent the headlog thereof, a half-pipe-or cylindrical-shaped guardmember 25 which extends transversely across the full width of the bargeB. The semi-cylindrical portion 4 of the base 2 of the bracket is formedand shaped seats to conform to the outer contour of the half pipe guardmember 25. In assembling the bracket on the barge, the bracket ispositioned on the half pipe guard 25 thereof so that thesemi-cylindrical por-' tion 4 of the base 2 fits thereover and therearound, as shown in Figure l of the drawing. After the bracket has beenproperly positioned on the half pipe guard 25, the plate-like member i2is moved outwardly about its pivotal connection l5 with the base 2 andupon such movement, the hook-shaped portion i6 arranged on the extremeinner end of the-member passes through a slotted or rectangular-shapedopening 26 cut or formed through the half pipe guard 25 on the innerside thereof just above the deck of the barge. The plate-like member l2ismoved to a substantially horizontal position so as to be disposed uponthe deck of the barge, as shown in the full line of Figure 1, and afterthe member |2 has reached such a position, it will be seen that thehookshaped portion H5 is positioned in under the inner side of the halfpipe guard 25 so asto securely lock the bracket in position on thebarge. After the member I2 has been moved to a horizontal position andis disposed on the deck of the barge, the brace l is positioned so thatthe'hole through the pipe 2| arranged on the lower end thereof isaligned with the holes through the clevis 22. The toggle bolt 23-is theninserted through thealigned On the upper end of the diagonal brace holesand this completes the assembly of the bracket upon the barge.

In order to support properly the splash boards H] on the barge, it isnecessary, of course, to provide more than one bracket. In other words,there is provided a plurality of brackets which are spaced apartthroughout the width of the barge. In the present instance, there isprovided three'brackets, as shown in Figures 4 through 6 of the drawing,for supporting and accommodating the splash boards. In such a case, itwill be understood that the upwardly extending members 5 and 6 of themiddle or center bracket should be about twice as wide as the plates 5and B of the outer brackets. It is necessary that the upwardly extendingmembers of the center bracket be of such width for the reason that thesplash boards l0 lap at the center of the barge, and the ends of opposedboards would be disposed at the center of the barge or in the centerbracket. After the necessary number of brackets have been mounted on theend of the barge in the manner as above explained, the necessary numberof splash boards Ill are positioned between the upwardly extendingmembers 5 and 6 of the brackets. After the splash boards have beenpositioned in the brackets, the link members 1 of each of the bracketsis moved about its pivotal connection at 8 and made to pass over theupper hooked end 9 of the opposed member 5 so as to securely hold theupper ends of' the members 5 and 6 together.

, When it is desired to remove any one of the brackets from the barge,the above procedure is reversed and the bracket is removed from thebarge and folded, as shown in the broken lines of Figure 1 of thedrawing,.whereby it can be conveniently handled and stored for futureuse.

As a result of our invention, it will be seen that there is provided acollapsible splash board bracket which can be easily and quicklyassembledon the head of the barge or removed therefrom without the aidof any additional tools. It will be'seen that the bracket isautomatically lockedor secured in position on' the barge simultaneouslywith the positioning of the same thereon. It will also be seen that theimproved bracket of our invention is extremely compact when folded sothat it consumes a minimum amount of space.

While we have shown and described one specific embodiment of ourinvention, it will be understood that this embodiment is'merely forv thepurpose of illustration and description and that various other forms maybe devised within the scope of our invention, as defined in the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. A collapsible splash board bracket for barges and the like comprisinga base member, means for positioning and detachably holding said basemember on the barge, upwardly extending means secured to said basemember for accommodating and holding the splash boards, a plate-likemember having the inner end thereof pivotally attached to sai'd'basemember directly opposite said upwardly extending-means, an angularlyarranged brace member extending between said upwardly extending meansand said plate-like member,"means for pivotally connecting one end ofsaid brace memberto said upwardly extend ing means, and means fordetachably connecting the opposite end of said brace member to saidplate-like member adjacent the outer end thereof, said plate-like memberin one position adapted to lie substantially in a horizontal positionupon the deck of the barge when the bracket is in use and in anotherposition adapted to be folded toward said upwardly extending means aboutits pivotal connection with said base member with the brace memberadapted to pivot about its pivotal connection with the upwardlyextending means and disposed directly next to said plate-like memberwhen the bracket is folded and not in use.

2. A collapsible splash board bracket for barges and the like, asdefined in claim 1, wherein the upwardly extending means secured to thebase member for accommodating and holding the splash boards consists ofa pair of spaced apart parallel members so as to provide a spacetherebetween corresponding to the thickness of the splash boards, andremovable means arranged at the extreme upper end of said members forholding those ends in spaced relation.

3. A collapsible splash board bracket for barges and the like comprisinga relatively short base member having a substantially semi-cylindricalportion formed therein which is adapted to be positioned over a similarshaped member carried by the barge, upwardly extending means secured tosaid base member to one side of the semicylindrical portions thereof foraccommodating and holding the splash boards, a plate-like memberpivotally connected adjacent one end thereof to said base member on theside thereof directly opposite from said upwardly extending means, saidplate-like member having an upwardly bent hook-shaped portion arrangedon the extreme inner end thereof at a point beyond the pivotalconnection with said base member and extending thereinunder, saidhook-shaped portion adapted to extend into an opening on the inner sideof the semi-cylindrical member carried by the barge and to cooperatetherewith to hold the bracket in position thereon, an angularly arrangedbrace member extending between said upwardly extending means and saidplate-like member, means for pivotally connecting one end of said bracemember to said upwardly extending meansyand means for detachablyconnecting the opposite end of said brace member to said plate-likemember, said plate-like member in one position adapted to liesubstantially in a horizontal plane upon the deck of the barge when thebracket is in use and in another position adapted to be folded towardsaid upwardly extending means about its pivotal connection with saidbase member whereby the hook-shaped portion is moved out of the openingin the semicylindrical member of the barge so as to be disengagedtherefrom so that the bracket may be removed from the barge with thebrace member adapted to pivot about its pivotal connection with saidupwardly extending means and disposed directly next to said plate-likemember when the bracket is folded and not in use.

4. A collapsible splash board bracket for barges and the like, asdefined in claim 3, wherein the upwardly extending means secured to thebase member for accommodating and holding the splash boards consists ofa pair of spaced apart parallel members so as to provide a spacetherebetween corresponding to the thickness of the splash boards, andremovable means arranged at the extreme upper end of said members forholding those ends in spaced relation.

5. A collapsible splash board bracket for barges and the like comprisinga base member, means for positioning and detachably holding said basemember on the barge, upwardly extending means secured to said basemember for accommodating and holding the splash boards, a plate-likemember having one end thereof pivotally attached adjacent one endthereof to said base member directly opposite said upwardly extendingmeans, said plate-like member having means arranged on the extreme innerend thereof beyond the pivotal connection with said base member anddisposed thereunder for detachably connecting the bracket to the barge,an angularly arranged brace member extending between said upwardlyextending means and said plate-like member, means for pivotallyconnecting one end of said brace member to said upwardly extendingmeans, and means for detachably connecting the opposite end of saidbrace member to said platelike member adjacent the outer end thereof,said plate-like member in one position adapted to lie substantiallyhorizontal upon the deck of the barge when the bracket is in use and. inanother position adapted to be folded toward said upwardly extendingmeans about its pivotal connection with said base member whereby themeans carried by the plate-like member is disengaged from the barge sothat the bracket may be removed therefrom with the brace member adaptedto pivot about its pivotal connection with the upwardly extending meansand disposed directly next to said plate-like member when the bracket isfolded and not in use.

KARL F. BRAUN. GEORGE T. GRIFFITHS.

